Bookmobiles were loaded at the Chattanooga Public Library when it was in present-day Fletcher Hall.
Many years ago, the Chattanooga Public Library devised an innovative way to serve a growing suburban base of patrons. The library’s former location, in present-day Fletcher Hall on the UTC campus, lacked sufficient parking. Suburbanites in communities such as Hixson and Red Bank didn’t always want to travel downtown to check out books.
Solution: bring some of the books to them by implementing Bookmobile service, sort of a library on wheels. The Bookmobile became very popular in the 1960’s under the leadership of Kathryn Arnold at the library.
The Bookmobiles were trailers towed by trucks to various points. In an annual report of the library for 1967, it was noted that circulation via the Bookmobile program had reached 22,424 books. This represented half of the library’s total circulation
Requests for service had come from all surrounding communities, including Cleveland and Fort Oglethorpe. The same library report of 1967 stated that a self-propelled Bookmobile was requested in order to reduce the setup cost of the trailers. Also, the trailers could not negotiate the curves of highways such as Signal Mountain Road, though residents of Signal Mountain eagerly wanted Bookmobile service.
Jane Jolley, who grew up in the Hixson area, recalls that getting to go the Bookmobile with her sister was a treat in the summer. The Bookmobile had a weekly stop at the Hixson Utility District, and many children of the Hixson area flocked to it in order to take home some summer reading.
In the 1970’s, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library became the new main facility downtown. The library was able to establish branch locations such as the one on the perimeter of the then new Northgate Mall. Sadly, the era of the Bookmobile came to an end, but many memories remain of finding books on board that held one’s interest and sparked imagination.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library continues to implement innovative ways to serve its patrons. Both the main location and the branches have many books, magazines, and media from which to choose. Also, the library's Web site (www.lib.chattanooga.gov) has an on-line catalog, an index to local obituaries, and many images of historic Chattanooga. Check it out!
If you have memories of the Bookmobile, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@bellsouth.net.